


Going Home

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gay, Happy Ending, Long, M/M, Post Season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 00:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14988392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The team return to Earth to rebuild the ship. Keith suddenly realises he likes one of his team mates.





	Going Home

**Author's Note:**

> SEASON 6 SPOILERS! 
> 
> this is long soz

The past few years had been eventful to say the very least. The team was so glad to be going home. It may only be a short while, since it probably wouldn't take too long to rebuild the castle. A couple of years at the longest, perhaps. Everyone was just glad they finally got to have some rest. All this was just too much for some to handle. 

 

It was good to have the real Shiro back with the team. The poor man was completely exhausted and needed a good, long rest. He deserved it after all. Who knew how many times he had tried to save the team and they just had no idea. Keith and Allura had helped bring Shiro to a place he could rest comfortably whilst the others figured out how they were going to get back to Earth. 

 

"He's asleep, finally. Please, no one disturb him. We must figure out how we are getting you guys back to Earth." Allura almost whispered as she spoke, worried that she would wake up Shiro. Keith had his arms crossed over his chest, still trying to mentally process everything that had just gone down. 

 

"We could contact Matt, surely? Do the coalition even realise that Lotor is gone?" Pidge shrugged, pushing her glasses back up her nose with her finger. The team shared glances between one another; it wasn't a bad idea. They had plenty on ships to spare. It was just a matter of how they could get in contact. 

 

"He may not be completely gone. We can't let our guards down next. We need to get back to Earth, build the ship and get back out here to make sure everyone stays safe." Keith mentioned, his mind and body still in fight mode. It was the truth that Lotor may still come back, it could be tomorrow or years from now. Keith just needed to breathe, let his mind and body relax for once. 

 

"Rebuilding the ship could take years Keith, depending on how many work on it," Coran sighed, resting his hands on his hips. "Pidge, do you have a way to contact Matt?"

 

"I'm pretty sure I do, if not, Green will help me with it. I'll get to it right away." Pidge soon rushed off back to her lion, hoping that it wouldn't be too hard to find her brother. The rest of the team all shared a collective sigh, disbanding to go and sit down somewhere. Keith returned back to his mother and his space wolf, who he had named Yorak. The wolf whined and nudged it's head into Keith's hand, sensing that his owner was stressed. Keith smiled and pet his wolf, sitting himself down next to him. Krolia smiled fondly at them, glad that they were safe at last. 

 

"Keith, I can tell you're tired. Why don't you go get some rest? We'll probably be here a good while." Krolia tried to persuade Keith to go and have a laydown, but her attempts were unsuccessful. 

 

"I'm fine. I don't want to leave the team completely alone. Someone needs to be on guard in case something bad happens." Keith sighed, rubbing his eyes as he struggled to stay awake. Yorak had already fallen asleep next to Keith, but that was to be expected of the wolf. 

 

"Nothing bad is going to happen, Keith. You're safe now. Try and relax for once, I don't want you to get too worked up. Rest." With that, Krolia left Keith's side so he wouldn't be able to argue back anymore. Perhaps he would actually try and get some rest for once. Everyone else was off doing their own things. It was obvious how exhausted each person was and they really couldn't be blamed. 

 

-

 

Night fall slowly came around and the whole team had gathered around a small fire that Krolia and Romelle had made. The fire crackled and popped as everyone sat around, enjoying the warmth and little light the fire gave off. Yorak yawned as rested his head on Keith's knee, letting out a tired sigh as he did. Keith grinned down at his pet, gently resting his hand on the wolf's head. Romelle and Allura were quietly chatting between themselves, the two altean girls finally having time to bond with each other. Shiro had finally joined the team, having had a little rest earlier. It was clear that he was still tired but he wanted to be a part of this. 

 

Pidge was practically falling asleep on Hunk, she'd been working hard to contact Matt. She had been successful but he wouldn't be there for at least another day yet. Lance wasn't exactly sat with the rest of the team, he was sat a little further back against a small boulder, one leg pulled up to his chest. The paladin was still finding it hard to understand that Shiro had reached out to him before but he couldn't understand. All of this could have been stopped so much sooner if he had just realised that Shiro was trying to tell him everything. Lance could have done so much more to help the team. 

 

"Hey, are you alright?" A voice snapped Lance back to reality. He looked up at the figure in front of him and almost started to cry again. He shook his head, letting out a deep, shaky sigh. "Can I sit down?" 

 

Lance nodded and shuffled to the side, allowing room for his fellow teammate to sit down. With a slight groan, he sat down next to Lance. 

 

"You should be resting," Lance mumbled, hugging his legs close to his chest. "Not worrying over me. Please Shiro, go and rest." 

 

"I've rested enough for now. I'll be alright until we all go to sleep." Shiro grinned, nudging Lance with his shoulder. Lance couldn't completely hold back the smile, but he did try his best.  Lance turned his head to look at Shiro, his brows furrowed together.

 

"Why did you try to contact me instead of someone else?" Lance asked, his voice low and timid. Shiro sighed and shrugged, glancing over at the lions. 

 

"I knew that you had some idea that things weren't right. I knew you would believe me. I knew you could do something," Shiro replied, turning his attention to the paladin next to him. Lance had practically buried his head in his knees at this point. "Lance, I know how great you are. You have come incredibly far since we first came out here. You got whisked into space at 17 years old and now you're practically an old man!" 

 

"Says you," Lance murmured, removing his head from his knees. His eyes were teary and it was obvious to Shiro that he was trying his best to hold himself together. "You're older than all of us." 

 

"What I'm trying to say is that you're an incredible guy. You have worked so hard to keep everyone here safe and out of harm. You need to stop doubting yourself so much, Lance. Believe me." Shiro's words comforted Lance greatly. It was so good to hear something like that from him.

 

"Thanks, Shiro. I think I'm going to head off and get some sleep now. You should too." Lance pushed himself up from where he had been sat, helping Shiro up once he was done too. The two shared a moment of silence, until Shiro pulled Lance in for a hug. It was a very soft, comforting hug. It was only short but it gave Lance that extra boost he needed so badly. The two headed off in sperate ways to get some rest, the rest of the team soon following behind them. 

 

-

 

It was just a day later that everyone was moving their stuff from their lions and onto the spare ships Matt had managed to get. A few of the coalition had also come to help transport the stuff back to Earth. They would have gone back in their Lions, but considering there was so much stuff to get back and now, quite a few more people, they needed the extra help. Finally, the last thing was put on the spare ships and everybody was ready to head back home. It didn't feel real, but everyone was so excited. 

 

"I think we're all ready to head off now, huh?" Matt grinned, dusting his hands off as he looked at the team in front of him. Everyone nodded and rushed off to get into their lions. Krolia, Romelle, Allura, Yorak, and Coran all followed Matt onto the ships. Keith and Shiro shared the Black Lion; it felt wrong to shove Shiro into a random ship. Munites later, they were all zooming off into the darkness of space, hoping the journey back to Earth wasn't going to take too long. 

 

"You want to drive?" Keith grinned, looking over at Shiro. He smiled widely and nodded his head, excited to be back in Black's cockpit once again. Keith got up from the seat and allowed Shiro to sit down. Keith stood next to him the entire time. It was so good to see that Shiro hadn't lost one bit of connection with Black. It was good to see him so happy again. Seeing Shiro smile made Keith feel warm at heart. They were practically family and now they were together again. 

 

Surprisingly, it didn't take long to get back to Earth. Perhaps they were just used to going so fast they didn't even realise it. They couldn't wait to see the look on peoples faces once they arrive back. Not just only at the sight of them still being alive, but the fact they have five massive robot lions and a couple of aliens tagging along with them. 

 

"Alright guys, we're almost there. We'll be heading back to the Garrison as out first stop, considering the majority of you live near there." Matt's voice travelled over the intercoms, alerting everyone of his plans. Now the excitement was really starting to kick in; as were the nerves. 

 

The team started their descent to Earth, ready to face the music one and for all. As they broke through the atmosphere and travelled down through the clouds, they suddenly began to recognise the world below them. The dusty orange of the ground below, the blue of the sky, the fluffiness of the white clouds surrounding them. Soon enough, the building they had learned so much in came into view. The loud noise of the ships and lions must have caught the attention of some in the Garrison, as they rushed out to find out what was happening. It wasn't too long after that they all landed, one by one. The crowd slowly grew bigger, whispers and murmurs spreading through the confused students and teachers. Who are these people? Is this the legendary Voltron? Why are they here? Is Earth in trouble? 

 

In almost perfect sync, the lions all bent down to reveal their paladins. It was then that the crowd really started to talk, some of the teachers pushing through to see what all the commotion was. Iverson stood and stared in absolute shock as he saw the six people his crew had declared missing, or even dead. The crowd really started to go crazy once the aliens stepped out of the ships next to the lions. 

 

"What- How- You're all meant to be dead!" Iverson yelled, completely gobsmacked. 

 

"Well, we clearly aren't. Thank you for sending people out to look for us, of course." Matt raised a brow at his former teacher as he helped Romelle down from the ship. 

 

"I mean, we would have, but-"

 

"But it would have been for nothing, correct? Too much money to waste?" Shiro added in, shooting a cheeky smile to Matt. The rest of the group snickered at this. Shiro was really and truly back. 

 

"I'm just really glad to see you all alive and well. I would never have believed you lot would have become the Paladins of Voltron." Iverson was still practically speechless. Sam Holt really wasn't lying about all this. 

 

"You know about us?" Hunk asked, rubbing the back of his neck. The crowd began to nod their heads and shout praises at the team. It took them all by surprise. Soon enough they were all ushered inside, everyone following behind them, hoping to get a glance at their saviors. 

 

-

 

"I feel like we're all in trouble." Hunk spoke up, breaking the silence of the room. The group had been ushered into Iverson's office- a place where students would usually go to get yelled at. Pidge couldn't hold back her laughter at Hunk's comment. 

 

"How on earth could we be in trouble? We saved their asses. They should be thankful." Pidge leaned back in her seat and kicked her legs up onto Iverson's desk. Matt was quick to tell her not to. Maybe then they really would be in trouble. 

 

"You know, I bet we all look like a right mess. I can't wait to get home and clean up. That would be awesome." Lance chimed in, stretching his arms up as he tried to speak through his yawn. The group agreed with him; to get home and relax for once would be incredible. 

 

"Speaking of home- My parents are off on a job in another country. I don't really want to leave you guys behind and travel off somewhere else. Any help?" Hunk looked around to see if anyone could lend him a spare room for a while. Pidge almost lit up at this point.

 

"We have room! Don't we, Matt? You'd love it at ours!" Pidge's grand smile was something Matt just couldn't say no to. Pidge and Hunk high-fived each other, excited to be staying with one another. The two had become such good friends over the past couple of years that it would be cruel to separate them. That's when it hit Lance too.

 

"My family are usually on vacation this time of year and they aren't going to be back for quite a while. I have no where to stay. They won't even know I'm back until they get back. We may even be gone before I have a chance to see them again." Lance sunk into his seat, the realisation that he might not see his family again hitting him hard. Everyone knew how much Lance's family meant to him.

 

"Keith, do you even have a place to stay? Shiro, what about you?" Krolia asked. She knew their shack would be okay for two of them, but it was small and probably falling apart by now. Both of them shook their heads, suddenly realising they were practically homeless now. All of a sudden, Iverson barged into the room and made his way over to his desk. He looked... nervous, almost. 

 

"Thank you guys for staying here for the short while I was gone. I have been told by my superior that because of my negligence, I am no longer allowed to work here. Due to the fact I simply assumed you were dead, instead of searching for you, I have been fired. I have also been told to let you know that whilst you were gone, a house for our most elite students was built. We thought there would be student's that achieve highly, but unfortunately, no one did that. No one has ever been in the house. Due to this, you have been offered the house if you need it. It can easily fit five people in it, even more if needed, fully functional and all." Iverson's confession shocked the whole room. Sure, he was quite a crappy dude in reality, but surely that wouldn't get him fired. Even so, there was nothing they could do about it now.

 

"Uh, we'll take it. Shiro, my mum and I need a place to stay." Keith spoke up. Iverson raised a brow and looked at Keith. 

 

"I thought you were an orphan Keith? Which one of these people could even be your mum?" Iverson snorted, finding the whole thing rather hilarious. Krolia crossed her arms over her chest and cleared her throat, glaring at Iverson. It soon shut him up. "Right, I see. Well, the house is yours then."

 

Iverson handed the keys over to Keith practically straight away. The three of them were excited to see what this new student house was really like. Was it as good as it was made out to be? Keith the turned to the alteans behind him. 

 

"What about you guys?" He asked, suddenly wondering where they could stay. 

 

"We've already made plans to go with Pidge. Since her father has the plans to the castle, he's the one who is going to help us build it." Coran smiled thankfully towards Keith, knowing that he was about to offer them a place to stay. 

 

"I wish you lot the best for the future." Iverson simply said before rising from his seat and promptly exiting the room. The group said nothing as they followed behind him, heading off to where they needed to be. Lance dragged behind at the back, unsure of where he was to go. He still had no place to stay. As they exited the building, Yorak appeared next to Lance and nudged his nose against the paladin's hand. 

 

"What is it?" Lance sighed, gently patting the wolf on its head. It stayed by his side, staring up at him. "Keith's over there buddy, you got a home to go to now." 

 

It was at that moment that Yorak started to tug as Lance's sleeve, trying to drag him along with him. Lance managed to shake the wolf off of him, if only for a short while. He wasn't in the mood to play games with a space wolf as of now. Perhaps later he would be. It seemed that Lance would have to stay in one of the lions. It wouldn't be comfortable or practical but that was his only choice. However, no matter how much Lance shooed Keith's wolf away, it kept coming back. 

 

"Keith, come get your wolf away from me!" Lance yelled, catching the other paladin's attention. Keith turned back to see Yorak pestering Lance, pushing his legs and biting at his hands. It was quite a hilarious sight to watch, but he knew ance would get even more pissed off it Keith did nothing about it. Keith promptly jogged over to Lance, managing to catch Yorak's attention for even a spilt-second. 

 

"Yorak, enough," Keith commanded, the wolf instantly stopping and sitting next to his owner. His tail was still wagging as he stared up at Lance. "Sorry about that, I've never seen him do it before. I guess he must like you!" 

 

"Yeah, well I don't like him." Lance spat, pushing past Keith and his wolf. The gesture shocked Keith, as Lance was never like this. It then hit Keith that Lance had no place to stay. The paladin looked down at the wolf next to him and with a little bark of encouragement from him, Keith went running after Lance. He now understood what Yorak was trying to do. Keith finally caught up to Lance and managed to only just grab his wrist, causing him to spin around to face his fellow team mate. 

 

"You have no place to stay, do you?" Keith asked, slightly out of breath from running to catch Lance. The paladin sighed and shook his head before going to turn back again. Keith stopped him yet again. "Come with us. We have plenty of room. I don't want you to be alone." 

 

"Are you sure you want me there? I'll just get in your way." Lance mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he waited for Keith's response. Keith simply laughed a little, rolling his eyes at Lance. 

 

"I'm sure. You won't get in our way at all. Please, Lance. I'm not leaving until you agree to come with me." Keith was persistent and it finally paid off. A sigh left Lance as he finally gave in and agreed to go with Keith. The two soon caught up with Krolia and Shiro, Yorak trotting happily behind them. 

 

-

 

The student house was actually a very lovely house. It had a lot of room for them and each room was spacious enough to have whatever they wanted in it. As soon as they had got in, Yorak was practically darting around the house, sniffing every corner and every piece of furniture he came across. Lance stayed a step behind the other three, feeling as if he was intruding on them. 

 

Krolia stepped away to check out the rest of the house and to try calm down the overexcited wolf. He was still somewhat a puppy, so this was to be expected of him. Shiro and Keith raced upstairs to see what the bedrooms were like. They tried to slow each other down as they ran, hoping to get the best room they could. Lance let out a long sigh as he glanced around, looking at all the paintings and intricate details lining the walls. He really didn't know what to do with himself as of now. Yorak was still bouncing around, gracefull dodging everything that blocked his path. He couldn't help but smile at the wolf, as it reminded him of home. It reminded him of his owns dogs that he once had. A loud crash could be heard in the other room. Krolia's voice soon followed, yelling at Yorak. 

 

"Oi, slow coach. Do you want a room or not?" Keith yelled, poking his head over the staircase banister. He grinned at Lance before disappearing again. It still felt wrong, but Lance made his way up the stairs to find Shiro and Keith. He could hear their laughter from the other room, so he followed the sound. He cautiously poked his head around the door frame to see Keith getting pinned down by Shiro. 

 

"I got this room first!" Shiro laughed, making sure Keith couldn't get out of his grip. Keith was trying his absolute hardest but he was no match for Shiro. It was just a few moments later that Keith spotted Lance at the door.

 

"Lance, help me! I'm trapped!" Keith pleaded for Lance's help, but he simply grinned and shook his head. "You traitor!" 

 

"Sorry Keith, this isn't my battle to fight. Have fun!" Lance chuckled before rushing off, going to look for a room for himself. Hopefully, there was one he liked. Yorak came trotting up the stairs with a random pillow in his mouth, obviously proud of what he so bravely caught. This space wolf was no different from any other dog in complete honesty. Lance shook his head the Yorak before wandering off down the corridor, looking into each of the rooms as he passed. A room at the very end caught his attention. It was quaint and cozy, perfect for him. It reminded him of home; that's exactly as he wanted it. 

 

He made his way over to the bed and sat down on it, running his hands over the silky sheets. It felt strange to be sat on a bed that was actually comfortable again. He forgot how it felt. Lance was off in his own world, enjoying every moment of having his own comfy bed again. A knock on his door brought him back to reality and caused him to look up. 

 

"You okay in here?" Krolia asked, leaning against the door frame. She had changed from her armor into something a lot more comfortable. Lance could now see the many battle wounds and scars littered across her bare skin. You could tell she was a tough warrior. 

 

"I'm fine. It's nice to be back. It's nice to have a bed." Lance commented, still running his hands over the sheets. Krolia smiled fondly at him, watching as he took in his surroundings. 

 

"Did you happen to see Yorak anywhere? He's already trashing the place and I'm sure he took one of the pillows." Krolia asked, glancing behind her for a spilt-second. 

 

"He went into one of the rooms over there. He's a sweet wolf." Lance pointed towards one of the rooms opposite, noting that he had seen the wolf trot into their earlier. Krolia threw him a thumbs up before disappearing across the hall into one of the rooms. Within a minute or so, Yorak sprinted out the room with Krolia close on his tail. Lance smiled to himself and pushed himself up off the bed. He made his way over to the wardrobe in the corner and opened it. To his surprise, it was full of clothes. The paladin picked out a few clothes and changed. It was his first set of proper, fresh clothes in years. It wasn't his usual style but at least they fit. 

 

"Hey hey hey, look at you!" Keith's voice broke the silence in the room, startling Lance. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." 

 

"It's fine. You didn't scare me." Lance brushed off his clothes and turned to face Keith. Keith could see that Lance wasn't entirely himself. Something was bothering him. Keith stepped into the room and made his way over to Lance. 

 

"What's wrong? You aren't yourself and it's worrying me." Keith spoke in a soft tone, making sure as to not make Lance feel as if he was being forced to speak up. Lance shook his head and closed the wardrobe doors, brushing past Keith without an explanation. It was obvious he didn't want to speak but Keith hated seeing this side of Lance. 

 

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Maybe later. Right now, I have to go and do something," Lance picked up a jacket that was hanging on the back of the bedroom door and tugged it on. The worried look on Keith's face made him stop and consider talking to him for a moment, but ultimately he decided to drop it. "I'll see you later." 

 

"Be safe." Keith mumbled as Lance disappeared out the bedroom door. Everything in Keith was screaming at him to follow his friend. He decided not to follow, and simply made his way back to find Shiro. 

 

-

 

The work had already started to rebuild the Castle of Lions. It was going well and the small team was working hard. Perhaps it wouldn't be as elegant as the first one, but it would still be a home for the Alteans and Lions. Coleen couldn't do muh to help, so she simply provided food and drinks whenever anyone needed it. Allura had come to discover this great human food called chocolate. Coran liked the biscuits the most. Romelle was quite fond of these weird fruits called strawberries. In fact, the alteans rather enjoyed the earth food they were being served. 

 

The group was so hard at work they didn't even notice that Lance had turned up out of the blue. Not until Hunk spoke up about it, at least. It was nice to see him around and they could use an extra helping hand. 

 

"Hey buddy, what brings you here?" Sam spoke up from where he was working, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Lance jogged over to the man and looked at what had already been built. It was already looking awesome. 

 

"I'm here to speak to Allura about something. Know where she is?" Lance asked, his voice low. He didn't want everyone to hear him. He wanted to keep this matter private between him and Allura. Sam raised a brow before pointing to his right, where Allura was sat in the grass, watching the flowers sway in the gentle breeze that was starting to pick up. "Thanks."

 

Lance slowly made his way over to the princess, his heart pounding in his chest. Lance needed to speak to her about how he really felt. He needed to know how she felt about him, whether there could be anything between them at all. It had been bothering him for a good while now. 

 

"Allura, can I speak to you?" Lance spoke up, catching Allura's attention. She turned and smiled at him, gently nodding as a response to his question. He sat down next to her in the grass, absent-mindedly picking at the green blades scattered around him. "I need to ask you something important. To figure out what I am to do after all this." 

 

"Go ahead, Lance. You can ask me anything." Allura's smile made Lance's heart melt. At the same time, it caused him to become even more anxious at the thought of rejection. Lance took in a deep breath, turning his gaze up to the blue sky above him. 

 

"I need to know how you feel about me. Truly and honestly. Don't hold back." Lance almost rushed his words, hoping that Allura couldn't hear him so he could play it off like he said something else. The comment caught the altean off-guard. 

 

"You are a great guy, Lance. I respect you greatly. I know how you feel about me, the mice told me. I... I can't say that I share the same feelings for you. You are an incredible friend to me." Allura couldn't lie to Lance. She knew it would break his heart, but she still had feelings for Lotor, despite what he had caused. 

 

"I understand. Thank you for being honest," Lance felt like he could barely breathe; he had never really experienced true heartbreak. Lance took in a deep, sharp breath before pushing himself up from the grass, swiftly turning to leave Allura's side. He wasn't exactly paying attention to where he was going and walked straight into someone, knocking them to the ground. "Oh God, I'm so sorry!"

 

"Hey, it's fine!" Romelle laughed it off, pushing herself up off the ground. She dusted off her clothes and looked up at Lance, a giant grin on her face. "Lance, right?" 

 

"Yup, that's me. Romelle, correct?" Lance suddenly felt a lot better, like all heartbreak had just been some sort of phantom pain. Romelle nodded, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "It's nice to actually properly meet you. Want to come back with me? You don't seem to be doing too much here." 

 

"Yeah, that sounds cool! I have a few spare moments." Romelle practically jumped up and down on the spot, excited to spend some time with her new friend. Lance couldn't help but grin at her. Romelle was cute, he wasn't going to lie to himself about it. The two soon headed off, making their way back to the house. 

 

The two were in fits of laughter as they entered through the door, catching the attention of the other three who were about to sit down to eat. Lance shushed Romelle, but they were still struggling not to laugh. Krolia waved them over, signaling for them to come and sit down with them. The two did just that and sat down at the table. Lance sat opposite Keith, who was staring at him with a raised brow. 

 

"Romelle, it's lovely to see you again. Lance, I see you've met our new friend." Krolia smiled, placing the final bowl of food on the table before sitting down herself. Everyone soon began to serve themselves, ready to eat this delicious looking food. Thankfully, Krolia had remembered some Earth recipes from her time with Keith's dad. 

 

"So, Lance, where did you wander off too?" Keith asked, taking a bite of his food. His tone seemed off, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. 

 

"I went to talk to Allura about something and just happened to, quite literally, bump into Romelle here. We've had quite a fun time together." Lance grinned, glancing at the girl next to him. Keith rolled his eyes and took another bite of his food. Shiro could sense that Keith wasn't having a great time sat here. 

 

"You two already seem quite close." Shiro spoke up, hoping that Keith wouldn't butt into the conversation. The two managed to nod in unison, both with grins smacked on their faces. 

 

"We had a lot of time to catch up and talk. I've learned a lot about Lance!" Romelle was always so cheery when she spoke. She had been a lot happier since Lotor had been gone. It made Keith sick to his stomach. Keith was stabbing his food with his fork, trying his best not to get up and storm off. He couldn't quite understand why he was feeling such a horrible way. 

 

"I've learned a lot about Romelle too. She's a really great girl." Lance let out a content sigh as he looked at Romelle, his gaze fond. It made something snap in Keith and he couldn't stand being there anymore. He slammed his fork down on the table and stood up, his breathing heavy as stared down at the table. Everyone was silent as they waited for Keith to do something else. 

 

"Excuse me." Keith grumbled before sharply turning and rushing off upstairs. Krolia furrowed her brows at her son's bad behaviour, before looking over to Shiro. He simply shrugged before sighing. 

 

"I'm sorry you two, I don't get why Keith is acting up. Thank you for the wonderful food, Krolia. I'll go check on Keith and make sure he's alright." Shiro tried to be as polite as he could even though he felt bad for leaving the table so early. Krolia nodded towards Shiro as he left, thankful that he would do such a thing. 

 

"Feel free to stay here tonight, Romelle. Don't mind Keith, he's just a bit of a hot-head sometimes." Krolia sighed, standing from her seat to clean up the mess Keith had made. She picked his chair back up and took the plates out to the kitchen. The altean looked at Lance with sadness in her eyes; had she done something wrong to upset Keith? 

 

Lance shot her a sorrowful look before leaving the table, Romelle following behind him. She felt bad about this whole situation. She felt as if she had done something wrong. The two headed upstairs to Lance's room to be alone for a while. They didn't want to disturb Keith even more.

 

-

 

Keith was pacing around his room, trying his best to figure out why he felt like utter shit. It felt like someone was hitting him in the chest, over and over again, constantly. His thoughts were interrupted as Shiro entered his room, concerned as to why Keith acted the way he did. 

 

"You alright?" Shiro asked, almost scared to approach Keith when he was in such a state. 

 

"No," Keith groaned, flinging himself onto his bed. He rubbed his face with his hands, trying his best to relax into the softness of the bed beneath him. "Why do I feel like this, Shiro?" 

 

"Feel like what?" Shiro asked, raising a brow as he fully entered the room. He cautiously made his way over to Keith and sat next to him on the bed. Keith sat himself up with a sigh, brushing his hair from his face.

 

"Like someone is smacking me in the chest. I feel like my stomach is twisting and my heart is racing and it hurts to breathe. Am I dying, Shiro?" Keith asked, actually genuinely worried that he may be truly dying. It made Shiro laugh a little. 

 

"No, I can guarantee you that is not what dying feels like. Trust me, I would know. Keith, I think you may be dealing with a crush." Shiro explained, resting a hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith raised a brow, such a thing couldn't be even remotely possible, right? 

 

"No way, Shiro. I don't even like Romelle that much. Sure, she's a cool girl but... I'm not attracted to her." Keith shrugged, wondering why Shiro would even think of such an absurd thing to say. 

 

"I never said you had a crush on her, Keith. Maybe it's Lance you have feelings for," Shiro suggested, watching as it finally hit Keith. It was perhaps the strangest thing Shiro had ever witnessed. "You're not a kid anymore, you're 22 years old. This was bound to happen sooner or later."

 

"But, Lance and I have never gotten along. We always bicker, we always get on each other's nerves, he always tries to one-up me. I don't get it. How is this possible?" Keith felt like he was about to explode. He felt so genuinely overwhelmed he didn't know how to function properly. 

 

"Yes, but you always make an amazing team. You rely on Lance and he relies on you. You two can't function without each other. I bet you would really miss him if he left. You guys are practically made for one another." Shiro could see how much the two meant to each other. Even if Keith was right over the fact they don't always get along, it was clear to everyone that there was something between them. 

 

"I don't think this is right. It can't be. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed by all that's happened today," Keith shook his head and pushed himself off his bed, turning back to face Shiro.  "I'm going to try get Yorak to come in and calm down. It's getting dark and I don't want him running off."

 

"I'll come help. That wolf won't settle easily." Shiro groaned as he got up from the bed, ready to help try capture Yorak. It was going to be tricky, which is why Keith needed all the help he could get. As they walked out of Keith's room, Yorak appeared at the top of the stairs. The two men looked at each other before looking back at the wolf. It was like Yorak knew exactly what they were gonna do, as they all bolted downstairs. Yorak was fast, but so was Shiro and Keith. 

 

Yorak sprinted through the kitchen to the rather lovely garden outside. Keith and Shiro were yet to see what it was like out there. They really had no time to stop and admire the greenery around them as Yorak was putting up a tough fight. They finally had him cornered and unfortunately, they had forgotten one thing about this wolf. He could disappear and reappear whenever and wherever he wanted. Just as Keith was about to jump on him, Yorak teleported away, reappearing right behind Keith. Shiro couldn't help but snicker at this. Keith grumbled to himself as he rushed over to where Yorak now was. Yet again, the clever wolf changed his position. Due to the fact that they hadn't yet had time to scope out the garden, Keith didn't realise the small pond in the middle. Neither did he realise that Lance and Romelle had decided they wanted to come out and see what all the fuss was about.  Keith finally thought that he had Yorak, and lunged forward to grab him. As expected, the wolf disappeared into thin air. When he reappeared, he managed to knock Keith straight into the small pond. 

 

Shiro was quick to rush over to his side to help him out. Romelle and Lance were close behind. Thankfully the pond was barely deep enough to stand in, let alone drown in. It was, however, deep enough to completely soak Keith. 

 

"I hate that wolf sometimes." Keith mumbled to himself as he brushed the soaking hair from his eyes. He looked up to see Shiro, Romelle, and Lance all staring at him. A wave of embarrassment flooded over him, suddenly realising that they had all seen him get outsmarted by a space wolf.

 

"Are you okay?" Shiro was trying his best to hide the fact he was laughing, but little giggles couldn't be hidden for long. Keith scowled at Shiro, still sat in the now murky pond water. "I'm sorry but, I can't help you out of there."

 

"Here, give me your hand, Keith." Lance reached out his hand for his friend to take. Keith looked from Shiro to Lance, to Romelle, and then back to Lance. With caution, Keith reached out and grabbed Lance's hand, thankful to be out of the water. Lance didn't release Keith's hand until he was back on dry land. 

 

"Thanks," Keith breathed, dropping his hand back down to his side. The temperature was starting to drop, leaving Keith to feel the chill of the night. He shivered and hugged himself, a natural reaction to when he was chilly. "I gotta go get changed."

 

Keith rushed back inside, Yorak following behind him. Maybe now the damn wolf would listen to him. Lance and Romelle followed shortly after, Shiro tagging alone just behind them. As Shiro entered the back door, Krolia stopped him. She had a concerned yet somewhat pissed off look on her face. It made Shiro feel like he was a child again, that he was in trouble for something and was about to get sent to his room. 

 

"Why is my son soaking wet?" She asked, her tone stern and her eyes narrow. Shiro laughed nervously and glanced back outside towards the pond.

 

"Yorak decided it would be funny to lead him on a wild goose chase before pushing him into the pond." Shiro replied, hoping that he wouldn't get scolded for all this. He was a grown man, nearly in his 30's, yet was still scared of Keith's mother. I guess that never really changes for anyone. 

 

"If he gets sick, I'm blaming you." Krolia pointed at Shiro before returning back to her evening chores. Shiro felt like running and hiding. Krolia was scary when she was angry. He hated to think what she was like in battle then. Shiro nodded before promptly disappearing upstairs to find Keith.  He found him in his room, only just managing to tug his soaking shirt over his head. 

 

"Seriously, are you okay?" Shiro asked, causing Keith to jump. He rested a hand against his chest, taking in a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

 

"Keith, are you okay?" Lance's voice echoed through the corridor, causing Keith to freeze up. Shiro was right; Keith hated it. All of a sudden, Lance appeared at the doorway without invitation. "Oh wow, sorry for interrupting."

 

"Did I invite you in here? No, so get out!" Keith yelled, not in the mood to have things said about him. Lance was quick to leave without another word, not wanting to get in the way of Keith's bad temper. Shiro shut the door as soon as Lance left, not wanting Keith to be disturbed anymore. "I'm losing my mind, Shiro. I don't know how to deal with all this."

 

"It's not easy. It's going to hurt. You can get through having a crush if you can defeat some of the worst and toughest people in the whole universe." Shiro grinned as he leaned back against the wall, watching as Keith pulled a dry shirt on. Keith simply gave him the finger before flashing him a fond smile. Hopefully, Shiro was right about all this. 

 

-

 

A few months had passed and the ship was nearly complete. It looked incredible. They could all tell how much love, sweat, and tears went into it. It looked almost identical to the first ship, with minor changes here and there. Everyone was excited to be returning to space soon, but they also were pretty apprehensive. They didn't want to leave their families behind. For Keith, that wouldn't be such a problem. For Lance, however - who was still yet to even see his family- it was a different story altogether. 

 

Over the few months, Romelle and Lance had gotten closer. It was a surprise to some that they weren't already dating. It was obvious they liked each other, but something was holding them back from being together. Keith was quite grateful that the two weren't all lovey-dovey. Even the slightest thought of it made his heart ache. It had really hit Keith that he did have a crush on Lance. Dealing with strong emotions wasn't Keith's forte, but he was getting a lot better at it. 

 

It was late at night and Keith was getting ready to head to bed. Yorak stayed by his side as he changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth and washed his face. The wolf was now used to the bedtime routine and didn't run away from it. At least, not all the time. As Keith exited the bathroom, he could hear a faint... sobbing noise. It seemed to be coming from Lance's bedroom. Curiosity brought Keith to stand outside Lance's door, his ear pressed against it to see if what he was hearing was right. It was. Lance was obviously upset over something. He couldn't just leave him like that. He hesitated but finally got the courage to knock on Lance's door. The sobbing stopped suddenly, silence coming from the room. Keith sighed, knocking again.

 

"Lance, it's just me. Can I come in?" Keith asked through the door, not wanting to just barge in. Keith waited, listening to the faint shuffling coming from the room. Soon enough, the door clicked open to reveal a teary-eyed Lance. The two looked at each other for a short while before Lance rushed back over to his bed, leaving the door open so Keith could enter. "What's wrong?" 

 

No reply came from Lance, as he had already buried his head in his pillow. Keith took in a deep breath and walked in the room, Yorak still trailing behind him. Lance wouldn't mind, surely. He quietly closed the door before slowly making his way over to the bed where Lance was laying. Yorak trotted ahead of him, seeing that his other friend was upset. The wolf whined, nudging Lance's arm with his nose. A little, muffled sniffle could be heard from Lance. Keith decided to sit down on the bed's edge, hoping he would be able to coax Lance to talk to him. Yorak was still nudging at Lance's arm. 

 

"I know I'm probably the last person you'd want to talk to about why you're upset, but please know I am here for you." Keith spoke in a tone that was gentle and low, hoping that it would help Lance feel a little better. Still nothing from Lance. Yorak was now using his paw to smack Lance's arm, trying to get him to respond. Keith couldn't hold back his laugh. 

 

"Stop it." Lance mumbled into his pillow, trying to get the wolf to leave him alone. Yorak simply looked over to Keith for confirmation to stop what he was doing. Keith grinned and patted the bed beside him, letting the wolf hop up. Soon enough, Yorak was sniffing around Lance, pawing at the covers beside him. What got Lance to finally sit up was when Yorak licked his face, something he didn't expect. It wasn't something he was too happy about, either. 

 

"Talk to me, Lance. Don't bottle up your sadness," Keith shooed the wolf off the bed as Lance took a seat next to him, the wolf eventually finding a comfy spot on the floor to lay down. "I won't tell anyone else."

 

"The ship is almost done and I've yet to see my family." Lance finally admitted what was upsetting him so badly. Keith could see how much pain this was causing his friend. Lance adored his family and was so excited to see them again. With a small sigh, Keith rested his hand on Lance's shoulder. 

 

"You will see them, I promise. You said they were on holiday, correct? When are they back?" Keith asked, hoping it would be sometime soon. Lance simply shrugged, knowing that they stayed in Cuba for months at a time. "Why don't we go to Cuba and see if you can find them?"

 

"That's impossible, Keith. There is no way of getting there!" Lance sobbed, covering his face with his hands so Keith didn't have to see what a mess he was. Keith let out a long sigh, dropping his hand from Lance's shoulder. 

 

"We have massive robot lions that could fly us there in minutes. Did you forget about that?" 

 

"I'm not flying a lion to Cuba to find my damn family, Keith. Do you know that absolute shit storm that would cause?" Lance scoffed, wiping the tears away from under his eyes as he looked at Keith. It broke Keith's heart to see Lance in such a saddened state. 

 

"I would rather cause a shit storm then let you leave Earth without seeing your family again. I know how much they all mean to you. I know you want to see them. You need to see them and I will do anything in my power to get you to them." Keith's words touched Lance. It was great to see that his friend was willing to do so much to see him happy again. 

 

"Thank you, Keith. It means a lot, but if we have to leave before I get to see my family, I guess that's just how it is," Lance shrugged, yet again wiping away the tears from his cheeks. Keith didn't know what else to say, simply giving him a sorrowful smile before standing up from his bed. As Keith went to walk away, Lance grabbed his wrist. "Can you stay?"

 

"Stay?" Lance nodded, slightly tugging on Keith's wrist to convince him to come back. "What do you mean by that?"

 

"Stay with me, just for tonight. I don't want to be alone. Please." Lance's broken words convinced Keith to stay. If Lance needed him there, then he would stay and comfort him. Keith let out a short sigh as he sat back down on the bed, not really knowing what he was supposed to do. Yorak had already fallen fast asleep on the floor, so there was no moving him anyways. 

 

"So..." Keith was tapping his fingers on his leg, glancing around the room and waiting to be told what to do. Lance got up from the bed and walked over to his wardrobe. 

 

"I need to get changed. Can you just, you know..." Lance gestured for Keith to turn around, not wanting to be watched. Keith mouthed an 'oh' as he realised what Lance meant and promptly turned around. Lance smiled to himself, taking a few seconds to admire Keith before changing into his pj's. "You can turn back around now." 

 

Keith turned around again to face Lance, pushing himself up off the bed as he did. He knew Lance would want to get into the bed, which wouldn't be too easy if Keith was still sat on top of it. Lance made his way over to his bed and climbed under the covers, making himself comfortable. Keith was still stood in the middle of the room, still confused as to what his role was here. It was made clear when Lance patted the empty space next to him. 

 

"You want me to get into the bed with you? Are you sure?" Keith asked, cautiously making his way over to the bed. Lance rolled his eyes and patted the empty space again.

 

"That's not a problem, is it? I'm not that bad." Lance mumbled, waiting for Keith to sit down so he could go to sleep. Keith finally sat down and joined Lance under the covers. They were facing each other, sharing the silence together.

 

"If you kick me in the night, I'm leaving. Okay?" Keith muttered, a slight hint of a grin on his lips. Lance let out a short laugh, nodding his head to answer Keith. It wasn't long before the two were both fast asleep, completely unaware they were both cuddled up to each other. 

 

-

 

Keith was the first to wake up the next morning, due to the fact Yorak was scratching manically at the door. It was obvious he needed to go out. Why he didn't just teleport outside was a question Keith asked himself every time Yorak did it. As he was about to move, he realised Lance's arm was wrapped quite firmly around his waist. He didn't want to wake him up as he looked so peaceful, but Yorak would quite literally shit himself if he wasn't let out soon. Keith decided to gently wake up Lance so he didn't startle him. 

 

"Hey, Lance. I need to get up to let Yorak out before he shits in your room," Keith gently nudged Lance with his elbow, only earning a sleepy groan from him. Yorak was getting more desperate by the second. "Lance, wake up."

 

"Alright, I'm up." Lance unwrapped his arm from around Keith's waist, finally letting him get up to let the desperate wolf out. Keith yawned and stretched as he walked over to the door, opening it to let Yorak out. Shiro was stood outside, just about to go down the stairs. Seeing Keith walked out of Lance's room definitely shocked him.

 

"Woah, what are you doing in Lance's room?" Shiro asked, leaning on the banister of the stairs. Keith scowled at him as he gave him the middle finger, too tired to give a proper explanation as of now. 

 

"Saving him from a breakdown, now fuck off." Keith grumbled before returning to Lance's room, closing the door behind him. Lance was still laying in the bed. The clock on the bedside stand showed Keith that it was eight in the morning. Still too early for him. With a yawn, Keith got back in beside Lance, who automatically snuggled up to him. It felt nice, but he knew Lance didn't mean it in a way that involved feelings. 

 

"Thank you for staying last night." Lance mumbled, his voice groggy and hoarse. It probably didn't help that he had been crying the night before. Keith smiled to himself, thankful he didn't leave Lance. 

 

The two spent around another hour in bed, cuddled up to one another and quietly chatting between themselves. Keith wished every morning could be like this. It was the happiest he had felt in a good while. Being next to Lance made him feel that way. Keith was the first to get up yet again, as he needed to go to the toilet. He cleaned himself up during that time as well and by the time he had got back, Lance was out of bed. 

 

"You okay?" Keith asked, still worried that Lance might be feeling down. He shrugged in response, not really knowing how he was feeling. "I'm going to go get changed. You should too, I have a plan for today." 

 

Despite what Lance had said last night, Keith wasn't going to listen. They were going to see Lance's family whether or not it caused a shitstorm or not. In fact, Lance's family was already home. One of Lance's siblings had gotten sick whilst on holiday so they had to come back. He found out this information from Hunk, who had always been considered a close family friend to them. Considering the family lived on a farm that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, using a lion to get there would be perfectly fine.

 

When Keith came back to Lance's room, he found him all ready and dressed. Thank God he had listened, as Keith didn't want to go on at him to get ready. He knew how Lance could be sometimes. Lance straightened out his shirt before turning to Keith, letting out a short sigh. 

 

"You look fine, so don't bother asking. Are you ready? We're heading out soon anyways." Keith walked over to Lance, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets. Lance groaned and fussed about with his shirt again. 

 

"Where are we even going?" Lance asked, obviously stressed over the fact his shirt wasn't sitting how he wanted. 

 

"Somewhere. You'll see when we get there," Keith watched as Lance got even more frustrated. Keith wished he could let Lance know earlier, but he would never believe him. "Hey, calm down. You look absolutely fine, I assure you."

 

"Can I have a hug?" Lance asked out of the blue. It was obvious that he really needed one. Maybe it would help him calm down a little. Keith nodded in response, the two hugging each other moments after. Lance had his arms wrapped around Keith's neck, his face buried into his shoulder. Keith held Lance close to him, his arms snaked tightly around his waist. This was nice, real nice. Keith didn't ever want to let go. It felt like Lance was never going to let go, his grip was tight and Keith could tell he was really tense. The two broke apart after a minute or two, ready to head off to wherever they were going. 

 

-

 

Keith had made Lance wear a damn blindfold so he wouldn't know where he was going. He hated it, but Keith obviously wanted it to be a surprise, so he obeyed and kept it on. It was obvious they were in a lion; he just wasn't sure which one. It could only be Black or Red, as he wasn't the one driving. All he could do was sit and wait for something to happen. It seemed like they had been going for ages now. Lance was starting to get rather impatient. 

 

After what seemed like hours, they landed. The sudden impact shook Lance a little, but he soon regained his composure. Keith was still adamant about making Lance wear the blindfold until they were off the ship. He just hoped Keith wouldn't walk him into a wall just for a laugh. The warm air hit them as they left the lion, Lance still being dragged around by his friend. 

 

"Okay, you can take off your blindfold now. Just, don't kill me. Please." Keith was excited for Lance to see where he was. Lance was relieved to finally take it off. He squinted at the sudden brightness as he did, only realising where they were once his eyes had properly adjusted. Lance turned to look at Keith, a brow raised in question.

 

"Why are we here? My family isn't-" Lance was interrupted by a loud scream, causing him to jump out of his skin. He turned his attention to whatever had just made that awful noise, only to see his mother running at him from the front door of the house. Without a second thought, Lance ran to his mother to meet her halfway. The two collided in a great hug, almost knocking the two down. Keith couldn't hide the grin that snuck onto his face; the moment was just too sweet. "Mama!"

 

"Lance, you're home! I can't believe you're home!" She exclaimed, holding her son tightly. Soon enough, the rest of the family were bounding out of the house and towards Lance. It was quite hilarious to watch Lance get completely swarmed to the point he couldn't move.

 

"I'm home, I'm home, don't worry!" Lance laughed, hugging each and every one of his family members. Keith stayed back to let Lance catch up with them all, watching fondly as Lance picked up one of his youngest siblings. It was amazing to see him so happy and smiley once again. In the midst of all the chaos, Lance looked over and smiled brightly at Keith, before putting down the child in his arms and running back over to Keith. Without warning, Lance quite literally jumped onto Keith, engulfing him in a very generous thank you hug. Keith was swift to hug back, holding Lance close. The family wasn't too far behind as they followed, waiting to see who this strange guy was that Lance had brought with him.

 

"Are you going to introduce us to this boy here then, Lance?" Lance's grandma spoke up from the back, the rest agreeing with her. Lance pulled back from the hug, turning to face his family to introduce Keith. Lance kept a hand placed right in the dip of Keith's back, which sent Keith's heart into overdrive. 

 

"Of course! This here is Keith. He's been by my side for the last 3 or 4 years now." Lance grinned, keeping Keith close to his side. The family all shared confused glances with each other before one of the older siblings piped up from the back.

 

"Is he your boyfriend?" 

 

Lance looked shocked at the question and looked at Keith, who's gaze was already fixed on the ground. Lance could tell by the slight blush present on Keith's cheek that maybe Keith had been hiding something from him for a while. With a fond grin, Lance looked back at his family, ready to answer the question. He knew Keith would probably yell at him later for it, but it would be so worth it. 

 

"Yeah, he is." Lance answered, having to keep his laugh concealed as he saw Keith's reaction. The family all seemed very excited at this revelation and also very accepting. They were both ushered into the house so they could all sit and chat properly. Even so, Lance kept Keith close to his side, knowing that Keith didn't exactly enjoy large crowds over overly excitable people. 

 

-

 

They stayed for dinner that night and the whole family joined them at the table. There was plenty of food to go round, perhaps even enough to have leftovers after! Keith had never seen so much food, even during the feasts they had on the ship. As soon as everyone had served up their food, the questions began piling in. 

 

"So, how long have you known each other?" One of the siblings asked, who Keith recognised as Sophia. Lance had told Keith- very briefly- who was who earlier. He was still trying to get the hang of it. 

 

"Since the Garrison. Lance was always trying to one-up me on everything. I don't think he realised until recently that I knew who he was." Keith answered, smiling at the girl. She smiled back at him before tucking into her food. 

 

"How long have you been together?" Lance's dad piped up, his mouth still full of food. Lance's mum smacked his arm, her stern look silently telling him off for having such bad table manners.  

 

"Hm, not long really." Lance answered this question, it being somewhat truthful. The two had yet to talk about what Lance said in private. They would probably do that when they get back.

 

"Have you kissed?" Another one of Lance's siblings fired a question at them, this one being slightly older than the rest. Keith believed this one to be Luis, who looked almost exactly like his older brother.  Both of them shook their heads in response, considering they had both just taken a massive mouthful of food each. 

 

"Where did you disappear off to for so long?" The table fell silent as the question left Lance's mother. You could hear the pain in her voice; she was told her son was dead. She truly believed she had lost her son. 

 

"I... I don't really know where to start. It all happened so fast. One minute I was on Earth, the next I was in space. We've all been perfectly fine, saving the universe and whatnot." Lance's answer was muddled and confusing, as it didn't exactly answer the question his mother had asked him. 

 

The table fell silent for the rest of the meal after that. After everyone had finished, they left the table to all go do their own things. Lance was given the responsibility of putting his baby sister, who he had only just met, to sleep in her room. She was only a few months old and she was the sweetest thing he had ever laid eyes on. Keith helped him, of course, despite his lack of knowledge. The two were in the nursery, Lance gently rocking his baby sister as he wandered around the room. She'd been crying for a while now and wouldn't stop. 

 

"Please, calm down." Lance pleaded quietly, frustration flooding through his tone of voice. Keith could see him getting more and more worked up, so decided to step in and help. He had no idea what he was doing, but poor Lance needed a break. 

 

"Here, let me take her. Sit down and relax." Keith took the crying baby from Lance's arms, gently holding her against his chest, rubbing her back ever so gently. It was strange seeing Keith with a baby, being so gentle and quiet. Despite his lack of knowledge, he seemed to be a complete natural. Within minutes, the screaming baby began to settle. Keith had no idea what he did, but it worked. As soon as she had fully settled, she placed her carefully down into her cot, being careful not to disturb her. 

 

Lance was gobsmacked at how he managed to calm her so quickly. It was like he had some sort of magical power inside him to calm crying babies. Keith didn't leave the baby's side straight away, as she looked so sweet when she was sleeping. Soon enough, Lance joined his side, wrapping an arm around his waist to pull him in close. Keith rested his head on Lance's shoulder, smiling down at the little baby girl. Once they were done admiring Lance's new sister, they left the room and quietly shut the door behind them, making sure not to wake her up. 

 

"Hey, we need to talk." Keith mumbled, taking Lance by the wrist and dragging him aside. The rest of the family were in the living room watching some TV show. It was beginning to get late and they needed to head back soon as well. 

 

"What about?" Lance whispered, not wanting to catch the attention of the family in the other room. Keith rolled his eyes and smacked Lance's arm, to which he reacted by mouthing an 'ow'. 

 

"What do you mean 'what about', dickhead? You told your family we were dating! What kind of sick joke are you playing?!" Keith tried to keep his voice lowered, but he still wasn't happy over Lance's stupid joke he made earlier. As much as he had gone along with it, he knew it wasn't going to end up well. 

 

"I saw how you reacted when they asked. You like me Keith and you can't deny it!" Lance jabbed at Keith's shoulder with his finger, a cheeky smirk slapped across his face. Keith folded his arms across his chest, letting out a long sigh of defeat. Lance was right; Keith liked him and there was nothing he could do to deny it. 

 

"Alright, now you know. I like you. Thanks for being such an ass." Keith couldn't stand to be around Lance any longer; he was so mad and upset over what he had done. He was also extremely mortified. Keith brushed past Lance, ready to make an excuse to leave, only to have Lance grab his wrist and drag him back. The two were now extremely close to one another, Lance had Keith in a tight grip. Keith still wasn't happy with Lance, but he also wasn't mad that they were this close together yet again. Without warning, Lance slipped his arm around Keith's waist and pulled him even closer, their bodies now flush against each other. Keith's heart was pounding at his chest; half of him was yelling at him to push Lance away, the other half was screaming at him to kiss Lance. 

 

"I know you want to kiss me, Keith. Do it, I dare you." Lance's tone was mocking and low. Keith couldn't let Lance get what he wanted, but he also so badly wanted to kiss him. If he didn't do it now, he might never have the chance to again. In the end, Keith decided against it. He was too upset at Lance right now to even want to be near him. 

 

"Let me go, Lance. We need to go." Keith mumbled, his heart feeling like it was shattering. Lance frowned and let Keith go, his touch lingering against Keith's skin. The two headed into the living room to let the family know they needed to leave. The family hugged them both, thanking them for spending the day here. Lance was upset to have to leave, but he could come back to visit soon, now he knew they were here. Keith couldn't wait to get back home and go to sleep, so he could just forget that any of this even happened.

 

-

 

Keith couldn't sleep that night. He was sat up in his bed, knees pulled up to his chest, just thinking about what Lance had done. Yorak was cuddled up into Keith's side, fast asleep already. If only Keith could do that. Why did Lance decide to tease him so much? there was no possibility that he liked Keith; after all, Lance had gotten very close to Romelle all of a sudden. Maybe he and Lance just weren't meant to be a thing.

 

A knock on the door brought Keith back from his thoughts and he mumbled a small 'come in' to whoever was waiting outside. The door slowly creaked open, and to no surprise, it was Lance. Keith groaned and got up from his bed, not wanting to deal with his bullshit this late at night. Lance shut the door behind him, being careful as to not be too loud. It was practically midnight. 

 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Keith spat, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at Lance. Lance shrugged in response, taking a few steps towards Keith. 

 

"I wanted to apologise for earlier. I was wrong for doing that. I just thought that, maybe, it would spark something between us? It obviously didn't and it backfired but at least I tried, right?" Lance laughed nervously as he rubbed at the back of his neck, his gaze shifting from Keith to the floor. 

 

"What are you trying to say?" Keith asked, dropping his hands to his side. He felt that usual rush of... whatever that strange feeling was he got, as Lance spoke to him. Was Lance trying to confess to him? 

 

"I'm trying to say that I maybe, sort of like you? It sounds so weird of me to say but I really do." Lance rushed out, turning his gaze back to Keith, who looked completely and utterly shocked. 

 

"What about Romelle? You two were so close and-"

 

"I have no interest in her. She has no interest in me. In fact, I think she has more interest in Allura." Lance grinned, taking a few more steps towards Keith. Keith tried to hide his smile by covering his mouth with his hands, a nervous chuckle giving him away. 

 

"I actually hate you, Lance." Keith mumbled, a stupid grin still stuck on his face. Lance couldn't help but laugh at how cute Keith was acting. Keith usually had this facade of being a tough, emotionless guy, yet here he was, completely swooning over Lance. Keith let out a content sigh as he sat back on his bed, Lance soon sitting next to him. 

 

"Hey, do you think that we could, you know, be a thing at some point?" Lance asked, pointing between him and Keith. Keith nodded in response, truly believing that they could. It just seemed right that they would end up together. They shared a moment of silence between them before Lance asked another question. "Can I kiss you?"

 

"Oh, so now you want to kiss me?" Keith joked, acting as if he was offended. Lance rolled his eyes and chuckled before grabbing Keith's shirt and dragging him in for a sweet, soft kiss. Keith's hands fell to rest on Lance's waist, the two enjoying the kiss they had so longed for. Keith couldn't help but smile into the kiss, his heart overjoyed. Without warning, Lance pushed Keith back onto the bed, the two sharing a small laugh as it happened. The sudden thump on the bed woke Yorak, who growled at the two. This broke the two apart, even though they were very much enjoying themselves. The wolf jumped down from the bed and decided to make himself comfortable on the large bean bag in the corner of Keith's room. Lance smiled down at Keith, who he was still sat on top of. 

 

"I think I better head back to my own room, Yorak isn't too happy I took his spot." Lance whispered, earning a slight pout from Keith. 

 

"Alright, we both need to get some sleep I guess." Keith responded, not really wanting Lance to leave him. Lance pushed himself off of Keith and stood back up, helping keith get up with him. Keith walked Lance over to the door so he could say goodnight. Lance opened the door but turned back to Keith before he left, pressing a gentle kiss to Keith's forehead. 

 

"Goodnight, mullet." The nickname caused Keith to chuckle quietly, having a fond attachment to the stupid insult. 

 

"Goodnight, lover boy." Keith responded, watching as Lance made his way back to his room. Keith shut the door behind him, letting himself breathe. Had all of that really just happened? He couldn't believe it, it felt as if his heart would burst at any second. Either way, Keith made his way back over to the bed, excited for tomorrow may bring.


End file.
